Sheriff's Forum held by Working Interfaith Network

October 15, 2007

Nearly 600 concerned citizens and people of faith across East Baton Rouge Parish came out to listen, learn, and testify during a parish wide sheriff’s forum at Star Hill Baptist Church on Monday, October 15, 2007. Candidates Sid Gautreaux, Mark Milligan, Dalton Honore, and Scott Thompson, as well as incumbent Greg Phares were all in attendance. The purpose of the forum was to educate voters about their choices and to familiarize candidates of the needs and issues of the community.

During the forum, WIN leaders gave heartfelt testimonies of crime and violence in the community and demanded action from the sheriffs department. Leaders also posed specific requests to the candidates which ranged from improving communication between all law enforcement agencies in the parish to placing more uniformed officers on the street. A resounding ‘Yes’ was the answer to each request from all candidates. Each candidate, generally avoided criticizing one another directly and ended with a commitment that if elected sheriff to meet with WIN leaders and staff in six months and to have WIN represented on the sheriff’s transition team.

On October 20, Sid Gautreaux and Greg Phares won a position for the run off election scheduled for November 17.